Hank Lang
|appeared_in = Story: The Golden Gate Years}} Henry Samuel Lang is a red panda Anthro-feralis who is the father of Charlie Lang and husband to Emily Lang until her death. He is a member of the Lang family. History Henry Lang was born in 1974, and was an adolescent during the Awakening Incident. With his father Samuel being extremely strict and the horrors of the Awakening robbing him of any chance to have a childhood, Hank was forced to grow up in a turbulent, chaotic world and developed a serious, quiet, and occasionally surly personality, reluctant to show emotion for fear of being seen as weak by his father. Hank Lang had difficulty relating to his son and during the latter's childhood often let his wife resolve issues and comfort him, not understanding how to console Charlie himself. When Charlie came home crying after being bullied, Hank awkwardly stood outside his son's door waiting and hoping that he would tire himself out. Despite seemingly not taking any action, Hank still cared about his son's well-being. When his wife was found to have an inoperable brain tumor that would result in her early and untimely death, Hank was emotionally devastated but did not know how to express his feelings, instead turning colder. This pushed him apart from his son for a while, until the inevitable finally arrived. In 2015, Emily Lang's cancer became terminal and was admitted to San Francisco General Hospital. Hank sat in depressed silence at her bedside, never leaving and not even responding or reacting when his son came into the room, looking on as mother and son exchanged parting words on her deathbed. However later in the evening, Hank went looking for Charlie in an attempt to talk to him and console him. The two of them met together on the rooftop of the hospital and awkwardly sat next to each other in the night, before finally beginning conversation. Grief stricken and emotionally compromised, Hank made Charlie promise that he would make his mother happy, and then embraced his son, telling him that he loved him, something wasn't entirely frequent in their relationship. In 2020, Hank and Charlie Lang shared a drink on the latter's 21st birthday on the boardwalk at Aquatic Park Cove. Hank apologized for making his son make the promise, noting that he was not in a clear state of mind when demanding it and acknowledging that he was being selfish. He encouraged Charlie to find his own path to a fulfilling life, and asked him if he was sure if he still wanted to be a wizard, to which his son replied that he was certain. Despite his reservations, Hank told Charlie to pursue it. In 2021, Hank attended his son's graduation. When Charlie was accepted into the United Liberators Operations Academy after qualifying with high grades and exceptional magical skills, Hank was extremely proud, and would often brag about him to his coworkers and friends. He resented his father Samuel for doing the same, and himself even more for not doing it enough for Charlie. After Charlie became an adult and left home, Hank retired sometime before 2029, and lived in solitude for a time but slowly began to warm up to a deeper relationship with his son. The two of them reconnected over restoring classic cars, with Charlie providing some of the parts and helping his father find them. Hank became much more emotionally attached to and affectionate towards Charlie during this time, having changed his outlook on parenting in the years after his wife's death and wishing to share more time with his son, and the only remaining legacy of his wife left to him. He expressed deep regret for being cold and distant for much of Charlie's childhood, but had difficulty summoning up the courage to admit it to Charlie. 2029 In 2029, Hank Lang visited Ekhota Base in a red 1958 Plymouth Fury. He took great pride in the car and showed it off to Charlie and his co-workers, before continuing his road tripe to Montana where he would go fly-fishing. Shortly after, the Korean War re-ignited and a nuclear exchange occurred between the United States and North Korea. Lang witnessed air-to-air missiles and high-altitude defense missiles being launched over Montana, streaking above his head to meet the threat of North Korean ICBMs as he stood in the water of the gurgling river. Lang attempted to drive further northwest and away from the nuclear silos in Montana that he knew would be targets for the Korean missiles, but was caught in the outer blast wave of a nuke that missed its target and exploded miles away in rural Montana. His car, being a heavy old vehicle made in the 50s, did not flip over and crush him. It instead simply rolled off the road and into a ditch. Its doors were fused shut, but the thick metal bodywork of the old Plymouth meant that he received very little radiation and was prevented from contaminating himself by trying to go outside. Lang was rescued by a Liberators-597 V-25 jump jet and his son Charlie soon after, and freed from the vehicle and airlifted out of the area with the help of the agents. He had sustained moderate injuries, but would recover fairly quickly. He returned to San Francisco shortly after. After the ULC-CLAW War, Charlie came home to stay for a month at his old childhood home. Hank was more than thrilled to see his son again, even going as far to take him out to ice cream parlors and and various outings to spend as much time as he could, activities that the younger Lang welcomed. Personality Hank is a quiet man who usually keeps to himself and has trouble connecting with other people, save for Emily Lang who he had an extremely close relationship. Despite not understanding his son as well as his late wife, he still clearly loves Charlie and wishes him to be happy, as evidenced by his statement on his 21st birthday that he should not be held to the promise that he made his son make five years prior, criticizing himself as being unfair and selfish. After Charlie became an adult, his relationship with his son became much deeper and the two of them bonded, contacting each other much more often and spending time together in their hobbies. Over time as he aged, the elder Lang developed a rather morbid sense of humor, joking that his old car was a good choice of vehicle because it would not stall after being caught in the EMP pulse of a nuclear weapon. Despite being injured and in some pain, Lang made several quips and joked about his condition, much to the chagrin of his son. He was at first more concerned about whether the car that saved his life was totaled than anything else, lamenting "I really miss that car." Relationships Family * Emily Lang † (wife) * Charlie Lang (son and savior) Allies * United Liberators Coalition (employers of his son) ** Liberators-597 (rescuers) Category:Anthro-feralis